Zlatko Janjic played for MSV Duisburg for four years. He now works in the SC Verl office and suffers with his former club.
Zlatko Janjic is one of the best-known faces in the 3rd division. The 38-year-old ended his career at Rot-Weiss Essen in the summer of 2022. After that, the former midfielder took a break. “I took a bit of a break and am now doing an accompanying internship here at SC Verl as part of my retraining as a sports business administrator,” said Janjic in the Magenta Sport half-time interview during the match against MSV Duisburg (1:3).
The ex-professional spends every day in the office at the club for which he scored goals from 2019 to 2021 and celebrated promotion to the 3rd division with the East Westphalians in 2020. Now he is helping out himself and also supporting sporting director Raimund Bertels. “They are simply doing an excellent job here with the resources. We have a clear plan and a clear line,” praises Janjic.
At the weekend, there was also time to reminisce a little. The former striker was promoted to the second division with MSV in 2015. The Bosnian-born striker is taking the current situation in his stride. “They’re not in the best situation, so it’s not always easy to play soccer. The situation is absolutely terrifying. The club has so much potential and tradition. The conditions are unbelievable. It’s extremely sad to watch.”
Clear words from Janjic, who does not yet see a possible turnaround in the relegation of the 3rd division. “I hope so, believing is something else. There’s simply a lot against them because things have been going in this direction for years. At some point, you can’t get out of it.”
New defensive order from Boris Schommers
Boris Schommers’ team proved with a strong performance in Verl that there is still hope, despite all the criticism. His defense hardly allowed the strong opponent to develop with its short passing game and made pinpricks on the counterattack. The reward: the first away win of the season
The fact that Marvin Knoll gritted his teeth right to the end despite a finger injury showed just how much his men pushed themselves to the limit. Alongside Niklas Kölle, Rolf Feltscher, Tobias Fleckstein and red returnee Joshua Bitter, he was part of the new five-man and three-man backline, which was also a building block in the end for the all-important three-pointer.